Month: February 2013

The groundhog (Marmota monax) is a rodent of the family Sciuridae, belonging to the group of large ground squirrels. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Yesterday was Groundhog’s Day and on the surface the news was good. The groundhog officially proclaimed spring would arrive early. Meanwhile, I experienced a dangerous shadow of my own.

I suffered a bad fall due to the one half inch of snowfall we had early Saturday morning. I was reminded of the post we had last month about being able to be emphatic with the elderly.

Now I know how it feels to suddenly have your feet fly up from underneath you casting you down several slippery steps with one step thrusting you directly in the back as you hit the cold ground hard.

I was not the only one in trouble. There were over 200 car wrecks in a little over an hour. People who often move in from other places make a lot of fun of us here in middle Tennessee when it comes to snow. We don’t know how to get around in it very well whether we’re in cars or on foot. That’s just a plain fact.

I can still feel the sharp shape of the step I had a collision with. In fact, I was sprawled out on the ground in the snow for about ten minutes, unable to get up.

Meanwhile, cars were passing me right and left because I had fallen at one of our rentals which is on a very busy street. No one stopped to help me. Nashville has been described as the buckle of the Bible Belt but I was alone and on my own until I could get the attention of the the tenant living on the other side of the duplex.

I’m still recovering and it’s painful. I didn’t break anything but the muscles were damaged. It was a preview of what is to come with old age. You have to think about every move you make so you won’t disturb the sore muscles. If you don’t, you will suffer searing pains running up and down left of your spine, even down to your feet. Getting out of bed and off the couch can be excruciating and heaven help me if I sneeze.

But it’s the boredom of not being able to work that really is the final wicked blow.

We take so much for granted if we can walk and work.

We often complain about our workdays and everything we have to get done. But what if we can’t move? I couldn’t even get back into my car yesterday, much less drive. I was leaning against the car for almost an hour. I finally found out when the heating and cooling man says he’s just getting his truck out doesn’t necessarily mean he’s on the way.

I had to call my nephew to come get me and to take care of the heating and cooling man. (The tenants without heat had left and had placed me on voice mail. I guarantee that won’t be happening again. Their little phone kingdoms better include a clear channel for me from now on.)

But the worst part is not being able to do the daily tasks of caring for my aging parents. I couldn’t cook for them. I couldn’t do all the things around the house I had planned for a “free Saturday.”

Then there’s my regular job. We’re already behind because of the weather last week. One tenant didn’t move out on time. Another unit is way behind schedule for re-renting. I feel helpless and depressed because I can’t make things that need to happen -happen. Instead, I’m on the couch watching shows like “Too Cute Kittens” and “Hillbilly Hand Fishing”.

Why am I speaking so freely?

This is daily life for caregivers. We have to stay healthy because we have the aged depending upon us. If we get down, it can cause disastrous effects for many others.

But there’s a bright side to all of this. Other family members may recognize what you do only when you can’t do it. A light suddenly reveals what you do and if you’re a typical caregiver trying to work outside with a regular job, it is a massive amount of work. It doesn’t hurt for others to see that just as it sometimes doesn’t harm us to catch a brief glimpse of what our elderly have to endure.

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